Chapter 4

   Ash groaned as he shifted in his bed angrily. That night was the only night that entire week where he felt calm and was able to fall asleep instantly after lying down on his bed but the people above his apartment just had to ruin it for him. He cracked open an eye and turned to look over at the clock, groaning loudly after he noticed it was four in the morning. He placed his arm over his eyes before grumbling some curse words under his breath and, eventually, sitting up and pushing the covers off him. 

   He swung his legs off the side of the bed and stretched with a silent yawn and stood up. He quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants and left his bedroom, slipping his shoes on and heading over to the stairwell. He might not be good with people as a whole but once it came to someone ruining his, carefully outlined, sleeping schedule, he would give them a piece of his mind. 

   He stomped up the stairs and made his way over to the apartment directly above his, knocking on the door loudly, tapping his foot impatiently as he crossed his arms across his chest. He rolled his eyes as the yelling behind the door ceased at his knocking but the door didn't open. He glared holes into the door for a few more seconds before knocking on the door again, stopping himself from banging on the door. 

   This time, the door opened, revealing a buff dude who was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a grey tank-top. Subconsciously, Ash eyed him up, taking note of the dangerous-looking tattoos all over his arms and one side of his neck before he glared into the man's bright blue eyes. 

   "Could you keep it down?" Ash spat out. The man in the doorway only raised an eyebrow in, clear, amusement as he stared down at the shorter of the two. "It's four in the morning." Ash continued, stating the obvious. The buff guy nodded and quickly apologised before painting a stupid grin on his face and closing the door as Ash began to walk away. 

   With a light scoff, he finally made it back to his own apartment. He hastily threw his shoes off and pulled the sweatpants off his legs before, almost, running back to his bedroom and jumping back into bed. He pushed his face into one of his pillows and closed his eyes, blocking out any other remaining sounds and trying to fall back asleep. 

   The rest of the early morning hours were peaceful and Ash only awoke again at noon. He groggily sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes before looking around his bedroom with a low sigh. His bedroom was empty, with only three pieces of furniture: his bed, a wardrobe and a small commode under the window. He had wanted to go shopping to decorate his bedroom earlier that month but he simply didn't have the time, with work and organising his sleep schedule looming over his head constantly. 

   Thankfully, he always had the weekend off which meant that he could sleep until midday and lounge around after a busy Friday. He looked up at the clock and ruffled the back of his head, setting his spiked-up hair, before sliding out of bed, still in a sleepy - hazy - state. He slowly walked out of his room and into the kitchen, making himself a quick, and much needed, cup of coffee before he officially had to start his day and do his weekly shopping since he had just run out of food. He could order in but, if he were to do that every day, he'd quickly go bankrupt. 

   He walked into the living room with his cup of hot coffee and flopped down onto the couch, turning the television on and sinking into the pillows as he sipped on the piping hot beverage. He placed the mug down and surfed the channels for a while until he landed on a random movie that he had little interest in, but it worked wonders when it came to drowning out his useless thoughts. 

   He sat there for a while, minding his business, until the harsh-on-the-ears sound of knocking echoed through the walls of his apartment, startling the young man, which made him - almost - spill his coffee all over himself and his couch. He cursed under his breath and stood up, ruffling his hair in confusion. It's not like he had any friends that could visit him at his house for no reason. He barely spoke to anyone his age. 

   He creaked the door open a little and his eyes widened. It was the crying woman from the other day. He wasn't sure how he could tell it was the same woman and not some other stranger as he only caught a glimpse of what her facial features looked like when he bumped into her. He could only guess that it was her eyes and her, clearly, unnatural jet black hair. This time, however, she wasn't crying but supported a fear-stricken face, making the young man paint a worried expression over his features. 

   "Miss? Are you okay?" He asked quietly, in fear that someone she was avoiding was around. The woman glanced around frantically before looking back at the man and shaking her head quickly. Ash looked around, outside his apartment, but didn't see anyone. Against his better judgement, he opened the door wider for the young woman and let her walk into his apartment freely. He shut the door and rested his head against it, eyes wide. 

   He'd never acted like this towards a stranger. Honestly, the young man was shocked at his own actions towards the woman. He sighed loudly before looking over his shoulder, eyes going even wider - if it was possible - at the sight of the latter. She was curled up in a ball, sitting on the floor, her head hanging and resting on her arms which were on her knees as she shook and tears rolled down her face. Now, Ash wasn't the type of person to comfort someone successfully. Even as a child, whenever he tried to calm a crying person down, they would cry harder and for longer. He bit his lip but locked the front door, just in case, and walked over to the girl. 

   He kneeled down in front of her and touched her arm gently, making her flinch and jerk away from him, folding into herself even more. Ash sighed but nodded to himself in understanding. She was scared of something, or someone, he just didn't know what.

   He sat down next to her eventually, leaning his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling as he waited for the girl to calm down a little more. He wasn't sure what was going on but he decided against touching her in case he triggered a reaction he didn't want from her. With a sigh, he stared at the side of the woman's face before clearing his throat and speaking softly. 

   "I don't know what's going on, but is there anything you need?" Ash asked quietly, shifting in his place and turning his body so he faced the woman's side. He watched her with pursed lips, waiting for some form of reply but he never got one. Thinking that she was asleep or simply too afraid to speak up, he eventually told her that she's safe and asked her to come into the living room once she felt comfortable enough before leaving the hall and walking into the living room, trying to dismiss the negative thoughts circling in his mind. She couldn't be going through the same thing as his mother did over a decade ago, right? He shook his head before looking down at his feet as he thought. 

   In the hall, where the woman sat still against the wall, she looked up and smirked to herself before slowly pulling her phone out of her jumper pocket, and unlocking it. She hastily typed a text message before snickering to herself as she rested her head back against the wall, looking over at the living room door, before glancing at the front door and staring at it, waiting.